Hire vs DIY Web Design

By Elizabeth Phillips, Marketing Manager, Web & Graphic Design

DIY Building a Website from Scratch

Pros of Building a Website Yourself

Quickly Build a Website

With plenty of pre-made, templated websites on platforms like Wix and Squarespace, building a website can be as easy as choosing a design you like and plugging in your content to make it your own. Because there are extra steps to the process and a brand-centered approach, a website-building project can take a couple of months when working with a web designer, compared to a couple of weeks if you’re doing it on your own.

The Most Affordable Option

If all you need is a basic website, a Squarespace subscription and domain name can often be cheaper than the cost of paying a developer. Many programs have basic design elements to get you started at little to no cost. For example, Canva is a free and user-friendly tool that many people take advantage of for branding and building a website from scratch. Design is becoming more accessible every day!

Make Changes Easily

When you build your website from scratch, you are in control, meaning you can edit and make changes whenever you’d like. There’s no need to go through a third party every time you want to edit some text, swap out a photo, or add a new product.

Learn a New Skill

We’re biased, but building a website is actually very fun and fulfilling! If you like learning new skills and getting creative, building your own website can be incredibly rewarding. There are plenty of free resources online to help you grow your skills and produce a site that you’re proud of. Take advantage of YouTube, blogs, and social media if you’re interested in learning more!

Cons of Building a Website Yourself

Choosing the Best Domain and Hosting

With tons of options, it can be confusing and overwhelming trying to weed through domains and hosting to find the best choice for your business. If you’re brand new to website design and feel a little lost, no worries, let’s dive more into what these terms mean.

Think of a domain as the address of your website. Every new website needs a unique domain, and you can buy it online. You have a ton of options on where to purchase a domain based on how long you want to pay for the domain, if the name you want is available, and if you want a .com or .net (or something else).

Hosting is the physical server where your website is located. The internet is not just stored “in the cloud;” the cloud is a location with a bunch of servers. Picture giant computers that look like life-sized hard drives. You’ll need one of these to “host” your website, and speed and cost can vary greatly from provider to provider.

DIY Tech Support

If you build your own website from scratch and something breaks, you are your own tech support. Behind-the-scenes bugs and updates can cause your site to crash. Thankfully, some platforms like Wix and Squarespace have tech support built in (depending on your tier or package), but you’ll still need to be the point person to communicate with them and fix everything.

DIY Content Writing

Best practice for websites is a minimum of 300 words per page. Multiply that by the number of pages want on your site, and the word count adds up. Not to mention, you’ll want to create catchy titles and calls to action across the web page.

If you struggled with writing essays in school, maybe this part isn’t for you. Building a website from scratch requires a lot of writing and, most importantly, writing well. Your website is your space to connect with your audience. You don’t want to lose them to boring copy and grammar mistakes.

You can hire someone to write your content, like a freelance writer or someone on Fiverr or Upwork, but that’s an added expense that might tax your budget. Yes, AI writing tools abound, but beware: you could be sacrificing your brand’s distinct voice, the human touch, and sometimes even accuracy.

Keeping Up with Your Website

Congratulations, you built your website! But what happens when you add or take away products from your store? Or you get a new team member? Or you need to add a new piece to your portfolio? Websites are living, breathing entities that constantly require updates. If you built it yourself, you also need to maintain it yourself. Depending on your business, it can become a heavy workload in addition to your other responsibilities.

Unoriginal Templates

Although templates are easy and often inexpensive (or free), they all look the same. We’ve talked about how great accessibility for design tools has become, but with that, there’s a very important tradeoff — a lack of originality. If you start with a template, your website is going to look very similar to the other hundreds, if not thousands, of users who also built their website with that template. With the oversaturation of content online, it’s more important than ever to do everything in your power to help your brand stand out.

Difficulty Ranking on Google

While we’re on the subject of standing out, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is how you stand out amongst other search results on Google and other search engines. What’s the point of making the most amazing website on earth if no one can find it?

Your website won’t appear in search results if you don’t rank on Google. Experts in the web design industry understand all the tricks and best practices that go into SEO, and it can be a lot for beginners to learn. Some website builders have SEO tools that are better than others, but nothing can replace the specialized SEO you can do with a custom-built site.

Is it Mobile Responsive?

We live in an incredibly fast-paced and mobile world, and on-the-go browsing is only increasing. Last year, it was estimated that over half of website traffic around the world comes from mobile devices, and, if you look around, it seems safe to assume that percentage is growing. A website looking as good on mobile as it does on desktop is extremely important, and you want to make sure your site loads quickly and smoothly, before users lose interest. (You have about 3 seconds, FYI.) You might run into issues with this while DIYing, and you’ll need to know how to fix it.

Could Lack Professionalism

Just because you can build a website doesn’t mean you should. I might think I’m amazing at breakdancing, but if you were to put me in the Olympics against the other athletes, it would become obvious that I should leave this to the professionals. Unless you are incredibly adept with technology and equally as skilled in the creative, your website absolutely will stand out against the pros — just not in the way you want it to.

First impressions are everything for your business, and oftentimes, a website is your digital first impression. You want to ensure your brand makes an impactful first impression, so if you’re feeling nervous about your design abilities, maybe it’s time to invest in a professional.

Who Should DIY Build a Website?

• Very small businesses (in terms of revenue)
• Small artists and makers who are just starting out
• Students who need a portfolio
• Control freaks (seriously, though — if you’d rather be the one holding the mouse and love being in the midst of each decision and detail, try building your website from scratch!)

Hiring a Designer to Build a Website

The Pros of Hiring the Pros

Unique and Customizable Features

We can’t say it enough — you want your website to stand out amongst competitors! Working with a web designer allows you to create a website that is as unique and powerful as you and your brand. Find a web designer you love, and they will create a site beyond your wildest dreams, because they are expert creatives. With customized features and interactive options, the sky is the limit when you hire talent to build your website.

Experienced Designers

Just like any other professional service, part of the cost is paying for years of expertise, education, and experience. Sure, you can cut and dye your hair at home, but it always looks better when you splurge at the salon. That’s because stylists know the science of hair products, carry years of experience, and have honed their skills in cutting, dying, and highlighting. Most importantly, if you’re not happy with the results, they’ll offer to fix it.

Experienced and educated web designers will take the guesswork out of the process and create a stunning website that fully captures your vision. They’ll create a professional, high-quality site with clever content quicker than you could at home, with the knowledge of industry standards and education behind the practice. And, if you don’t love it, they’ll fix it to your liking.

Smartest Navigation and Layout for Your Brand

Experts aren’t just creating a site that aligns with your brand and looks amazing; they think about the things you probably wouldn’t consider, such as usability, navigation, and the best way to lay out and cross-link pages.

A website is so much more than how it looks. It needs to function and always consider the human on the other side. The beauty of the internet is that we never know where a user is going to land when they visit your website. A good web designer will start at the very beginning and build everything on your website in a way that makes sense and is easy to navigate.

Some people think of a website like a house. The Home page is the front door, and maybe the back door is a link to a specific page that you shared on social media. In a house, everyone who walks through the door must walk past the living room and the kitchen before they reach the bedroom.

But that’s not at all how it works on a website, where a guest can be teleported to any room in the house. You’ll want to make sure every room of your house is clean for your guests and that as soon as they arrive, they know whose house they’re in and can easily move freely from room to room.

Accessibility in Mind

Like a lot of great web designers, our team at Hummingbird loves accessibility and inclusion! The world is made up of incredibly diverse individuals with many unique disabilities and challenges. This shouldn’t mean that some people can’t use the Internet! Instead, as a society, we have made amazing headway in accessibility devices to allow those with disabilities, such as visual impairment or mobility issues, to surf the web.

As web designers, we think about things you might not have considered, including compatibility with screen readers, ADA-compliant contrast colors, alt text on images, and settings to adjust things like font size or remove distracting graphics. Hopefully, you’ll want your website to look good and be accessible to anyone who finds it. You shouldn’t need to be an accessibility expert to build a website; that’s what we do.

Many Agencies Can Help with Other Services

Some agencies will write the content for your new website for you, taking hours of time and effort off your busy schedule. At Hummingbird Marketing Services, we have skilled and experienced in-house writers who are eager to write razor-sharp content for your business, in your brand’s unique voice.

Many agencies can help with other services in addition to content writing. If you’re starting a new business or have a small business that you’re trying to grow, you likely need other marketing services in addition to building a website, such as branding assets, colors, fonts, and a new logo. At Hummingbird, we can blend all of these services into your project to set your brand up for success. Our mission is to help your business succeed!

Leave the Technical Stuff to the Experts

Now that you understand domains and hosting, you can see how important, but complex, this piece of the puzzle can be. Not only do designers in the industry know the best domain and hosting options for your business, but they may be able to get a discounted rate for you as they often purchase “in bulk.” Leaving these aspects to the pros can save you money and time in the long term.

Cons of Hiring Someone to Build a Website

Longer Process

Because of all the detail and expertise that comes with building a custom website, it can take longer to have hired talent build your website from scratch vs. doing it yourself. Writing original content, creating a navigable layout, and designing all the small details to align with your brand and goals takes time, but the finished product is always worth the wait.

A Bigger Investment

Hiring someone to build your website is almost always going to be more expensive than doing it yourself. The investment varies depending on your vision, but a website build project can be costly, especially if you are building a website from scratch. You’re paying for the training and expertise as well as the service itself; however, this is an investment that you’re sure to see a return on, as an impactful website is certain to help your business thrive.

You Might Need to Pay for Updates

Many web designers charge an extra fee to maintain the site or add recurring updates. However, it saves you the headache of needing to do it yourself, which could be worth the additional expense, especially when calculating the cost of your time.

Who Should Hire a Web Designer to Build a Website?

• Medium-sized to large businesses (in the sense of revenue and budget)
• Anyone who is not tech-savvy
• Brands whose website is the heart of the business
• Companies in a competitive industry
• Businesses that rely on finding customers digitally

Common Misconceptions about Building a Website from Scratch

A Quick Side-by-Side Comparison

Still not sure what’s right for your brand? Here’s a brief overview.

How We Can Help

If you’re looking for help building a website from scratch or refreshing your current site, our team specializes in creating stunning, easy-to-navigate sites that allow businesses to thrive — all while focusing on your brand’s unique style, voice, and goals. Helping companies drastically improve their websites and digital presence is what we do best; running your business is what you do best, and hiring us gives you back the time to do just that.